Jaili
 Comic Review: Solanin (2008)
Art & Story: Inio Asano
Publisher: VIZ Signature
Genre: Josei / humour / drama
Pages: 432
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421523213 ISBN-13: 978-1421523217
Solanin is one of those rare comics that manage to something memorable out of a predictable story premise: a coming-of-age story revolving around the lives of twentysomething college graduates.
The heart of the 432-page comic are Tokyoites Meiko Inoue and her long-time live-in boyfriend Shigeo Naruo, whom sheâs been dating for six years since their college days. Naruo is the vocalist-guitarist and lyricist of a struggling rock band, Rotti, but he has no motivation to go far. He instead spends time at home, playing video games and strumming on his guitar; generally being a layabout and a dependant on Meikoâs small income. Neither is showing interest in marriage or all other mod cons. Meanwhile around them are their three close former college friends, who are also members of Naruoâs struggling rock band, Rotti.
The story opens with Meiko working in her office job and she isnât happy. She â at 24 â is becoming acutely aware of the passing time, and that she might be sinking deep into the rat race as another faceless office worker. It …
At the Popular Romance Studies: International Conference, organised by the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR), there was a brief discussion to explore this question: Are older under-represented in the romance genre? If so, why? Good questions.
The average age of heroine in U.S. romance novels is between 24-26 (and possibly younger in historical romance). And yet according to the Romance Writers of America RWA), the biggest slice of romance reader demographics is “women aged 31â49 who are currently in a romantic relationship.” Â (http://www.rwanational.org/cs/readership_stats#Readers**).
Could it be the same reason why the majority of readers prefer their heroines to be virgins or virginal: reclaim the innocence?
**The Age of Romance Readers
The mean and median age of romance novel readers is very close to that of the general population.
- Mean: 44.6 years
- Median: 44.9 years
Those aged 31 to 49 are more likely to read romance and comprise 44 percent of the readership.
 Story: Jamie S. Rich
Art: Joelle Jones
Publisher: Oni Press (5 page preview) or at Amazon
Release: 2006
A passing mention of Twelve Reasons Why I Love Her during a conversation about graphic novels caught attention of the romance reader in me, which prompted me to ask the friend what it was about.
He described it as âa Memento-like story of an average guyâs life with his new girlfriend. Itâs all right, I suppose.â
His girlfriend pointed out, âYou cried and hugged me, didnât you?â The friend blushed and pretended he didnât hear her recollection. I cautiously asked, âWhat, the romantic interest died?â
The girlfriend flashed a grin and answered, âUnlike a certain classic novel, no one threw themselves in front of a train. Donât worry, it has the, what do you call it again? H.E.A.? Youâll love it.â
Unfortunately, although it was published in 2006, Twelve Reasons Why I Love Her is already out of stock. But I decided to review this graphic novel because I was able to score a copy at a small London comic shop. If I could get it, then it should be reasonably easy to get a copy from elsewhere or a …
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Earlier I sat here at desk, looking out to a window, thinking that it was great the vast expanse of the world is out there with its rich and varied cultures and peoples. If I had the money and the time again, I would travel for as long as possible to enjoy the sightsâsome may be memorable and some upsettingâand to gain insightsâdeep and shallowâfrom the surroundings and the encounters with strangers. I think many of us were born for such an existance.
Adventuring is part of my family’s lifestyle; almost a way of life. I left home at sixteen because it was expected of me. All my relatives, at least once in their lives, have travelled abroad and some lived there for months and even years. They have returned home when they have felt ready to hang up their travelling bags. Â Some of us remain transplanted. I havenât yet to return home because I feel like I still have much of my journey left.
As it stands, I donât have the money or, more importantly, time or opportunity. Â Iâm deskbound these …
Conversational Film Review: Silther (2007)
Genre: horror comedy
Reviewers: Jaili and Dionne Galace (a.k.a. Bam)
I asked Bam if she would do a conversational review with me. Without a blink, she agreed. She even did an awesome summary:
Slither (2007) is a splatter-horror and dark comedy about a beautiful, hapless schoolteacher Starla Grant (Elizabeth Banks) and her husband, the small town’s wealthiest douchebag and the unfortunately named Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), who falls prey to the mind-altering alien slug that burrows itself into his chest after he pokes it with a stick while out for a moonlight stroll with the town slut, Brenda.
In the light of the morning, Starla feels guilty for being a bad wife and attempts to make it up to Grant by seducing him to the tune of âEvery Woman in the Worldâ by Air Supply, but Grant returns from his evening walk… changed. Suddenly, he’s a little more aggressive, ravishing Starla senseless. And then there’s his unyielding appetite meat, the bulk of which he buys from the local grocery store and the rest he takes from his neighbors and by that I mean their pets. He stocks his meat supply in the basement and puts a giant lock on …
Film review: Down With Love (2001) & Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Grade: B- & B+
Genre: Romantic comedy
Dear Readers,
It hasnât been a good week.
A DVD I bought from an online shop for this weekâs review â a Cary Grant/Doris Day film â has a scratch, which rendered it unplayable. I went to a local DVD rental shop next day and rented a Marlene Dietrich/Gary Cooper film. I got home and found there was, unbelievably, a scratch on DVD. I took it back and the rental shop was closed. My mood simply nose-dived. This happened after work on Wednesday.
I was thinking of reviewing one of old favourites (Strictly Ballroom, 10 Things I Hate About You, Down With Love, David & Layla, and The Fifth Element) when Nikki lent me her DVD, Across the Universe (2007), which I hadnât seen. She urged me to watch it because itâs one of most romantic films she had seen.
After the film ended, I tried to write a review but was having a serious mental block. This happened Thursday evening.
No problem, I thought while keeping growing panic at bay, because I can watch anything and whip up a review easily enough. I pulled out Down With …
Beyond Her Book columnist Barbara Vey from Publishers Weekly reveals her conference schedule for the period between June and November this year. It includes Historical Novel Society in Schaumburg, IL and Romance Writers of America in Washington D.C. She couldnât make to some conferences. She is sending her âcub reporter and blurber extraordinaireâ Joysann instead to Lori Fosterâs Reader/Writer Get-Together in Cincinnati, OH, and RomantiCon 2009 in Richfield, OH.
American reader blogger Katiebabs has just returned from England where she met with fellow reader blogger Ana, the British-based half of The Book Smugglersduo. Katiebabs is now blogging about her experiences along with some awesome photos. So far, KBâs Adventures in England!: *Part One* Deadly Ditches and The Greek Tycoon’s Mistress’s Baby Bump | *Part Two* The Book Hunt
In case you didnât realise (well, I didnât until today), Decadence of Bookthingo is running a series of Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet to celebrate the release of J.R. Wardâs latest release, Lover Avenged. Itâs a useful guide for anyone whoâs a tad confused about Wardâs worldbuilding, mythology and lead characters. So far: Part …
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
An Officer and a Gentleman: Special Edition
Grade: B
Genre: Drama (U.S.)
Dear Taylor Hackford,
Although I had heard of An Officer and a Gentleman (who hasnât?) and seen many parodies of the legendary ending, I never got around to seeing it until I watched Searching for Debra Winger (2002) last week.
The Rosanna Arquette directed documentary consisted of a series of interviews with a number of high-profile lead actresses about working in the entertainment/film industry and the pressures they had to face. The title was inspired by a time when actress Rosanna Arquette was shocked to learn that successful and Oscar-nominated actress Debra Winger decided to retire from acting in 1995 when she was only 40 years old.
Arquette ultimately decided to explore the question why so many successful lead actresses dropped out suddenly after reaching a certain age, and why fewer âmeatyâ roles were offered when they grew older. But I digress. Despite the uneven quality of the documentary, I enjoyed Arquetteâs interviews with Jane Fonda, Martha Plimpton and Debra Winger. It was a brief discussion about An Officer and Gentleman that got me curious enough to overcome my dislike for Richard Gere to watch the film. (Iâm sorry that …
Film review: Firelight (1997)
Grade: A-
Genre: romantic period drama (UK/USA)
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Dear William Nicholson,
I was challenged to find and review a period romantic film that isnât an adaptation. I was all for it until I discovered finding the task wasnât as easy as I thought.
All I could find were the adaptations of works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Barbara Cartland, Oscar Wilde, Frank Yerby (The Foxes of Harrow and The Golden Hawk), Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), E.M. Forster (Maurice, A Room With a View), Anya Seton (Dragonwyck) and many others. I had hoped Captain Blood, The Horseman on the Roof and River Lady wouldnât be adaptations, but they are. Damn you, Rafael Sabatini, Jean Giono and Frank Waters.
The originals I did findâsuch as The Abduction Club, Vidocq, Tugboat Princess, Lady Jane, and Brotherhood of the Wolfâcanât be easily found on DVD world-wide. O world, why art thou taking the mick?
I was about to fall on my knees in defeat when I remembered one of my role models Sandra Goldbacher (an awesome BBC history researcher and documentary maker) wrote and directed a film, The Governess (1998). I tried to …
Grade: B
Genre: Vampire (US)
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Dear Kathryn Bigelow,
Not long ago, friends and I had a discussion about romantic vampire films including two current DVD releases, Twilight and Let the Right One In. I passed around my list of the most enjoyable romantic vampire films: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Let the Right One In (2008), Vampyr (1932), Love at First Bite (1979) and your film, Near Dark.
The mention of this film-and whether it could be classified as a romantic vampire film-sparked a debate among us, and itâs still raging. Iâm throwing this one out here to see which side the romance readers would take.
As the story goes: our nice-guy hero Caleb Colton, a mid-western farm boy on a night out, spots and romances an attractive, coy and maddeningly mysterious blonde. He says, “I sure haven’t met any girls like you.” Mae replies, “No, you sure haven’t.”
After a drive under the starlit night sky, Caleb moves in for a sensual kiss from Mae, and receives a rather vampy bite instead. The dawn is approaching, Mae runs off leaving Caleb disoriented and confused. Thatâs when strange things begin.
He quickly learns Mae is meant to kill him with that vampy bite, but couldn’t go through with …
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